Scottish stores still at risk despite Brantano rescue deal

A number of Scottish branches of troubled shoe retailer Brantano remain at risk of closure, despite a rescue deal being agreed.

The deal - which saw investment company Alteri buy 81 shops and 59 small concessions - will see almost 1400 jobs saved.

However, it does not extend to a further 58 stores, including those in Glenrothes, Lanark, Linlithgow, Coatbridge, Partick, Aberdeen, Clydebank, Ayr, Wishaw, Dumfries, Irvine and Kilmarnock, meaning that 600 people still risk losing their jobs.

Administrators PwC have been running the remaining Brantano stores while a buyer was sought and had said that redundancies would be “inevitable” if a buyer was not found.

In the end, it was Alteri - the firm which owned Brantano and which originally put it into administration - whose offer was, according to Robert Moran of PwC, the “best outcome for creditors and employees”.

“Unfortunately, in the event further sales are not possible, redundancies will become inevitable. We are working closely with Brantano employees and offering every support possible through this difficult period.”

The Brantano stores in Scotland included in the deal are in Inverurie, Pollokshaws, Perth, Inverness, Dundee, Elgin and Linwood.

Brantano, which was founded in Belgium and which expanded into the UK by purchasing 47 Shoe City branches in 1998, went into administration in January following poor trading in the face of online competition during the mild winter.